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K-1 Visa Thailand: The DS-160

Transcript of the above video:

In this video as the title suggests, we're going to be discussing the DS-160 form as it pertains to K1 Visa processing out of the US Embassy here in Bangkok, Thailand.

First of all with respect to the DS-160, these forms, similar to the DS-260 which is a form of immigrant Visa processing, the DS-160 is a bit of a catch all form for non-immigrant categories so those who apply for things like the B-1/B-2 visa are going to fill out a DS-160 but the DS-160 is qualitatively different in the context of the K-1. As mentioned in a previous video, K1 visas are what are considered dual intent visas so they have this sort of, I won't say rare but, rather unique character to them in that the applicant can maintain an intention to go to the United States to reside notwithstanding that the Visa itself was not created for them to reside on that Visa category in and of itself, but for adjustment of status to occur later into lawful permanent resident status or green card status and then thereafter remain in the United States. But the DS-160 form in a K-1 context is going to look much more like the counterpart DS-260 form in an immigrant Visa context. The questions asked are rather similar. What are the major things with the respect to K-1s and the DS-160s is going to pertain to the couple's relationship up to the point in time of the application. The other thing to keep in mind with the respect the DS-160, it’s really pretty critically important to make sure that the DS-160 is filled out correctly. Failure to do so and later filing can result in processing delays as you need to go in, you need to rectify mistakes etc.

The thing to take away from this video with respect to the DS-160 specifically is that the DS-160 in the context of the K1 is qualitatively different to the DS-160 in the context of other non-immigrant visa cases. It also makes up a component part of what is called the Packet 3 filing; we go into Packet 3 at somewhat more at length in another video on this channel. But with respect to the DS-160 itself, again it is qualitatively different than its form with respect to nonimmigrant visa cases because it looks more like the DS- 260 which is a form designed for immigrant visa application processing and the reason for that is because in a sense K -1s are effectively processed as if they were an immigrant visa and in fact the Immigrant Visa unit undertakes the adjudication of K-1 visa applications as opposed to the nonimmigrant Visa unit which undertakes adjudication of non-immigrant visas such as the B-1, B-2. The other thing to keep in mind with respect to K-1 processing is it should be noted that unlike non-immigrant Visa categories things like 214b of the immigration nationality act do not apply with respect to K-1s as the intention is clear in the sense that it's a dual intent Visa; the intention is not only implied, it's rather implicit, it is rather clearly stated that the K-1 visa holder intends to reside in the United States so things like the 214b analysis don't really come into play when it comes to K-1 Visa processing.